By Jim Owczarski Sports Editor Published Apr 09, 2014 at 3:31 PM

This will be a year of "firsts" for Steve Wojciechowski.

The structure of the men’s basketball program at Marquette University will allow such milestones to come and go as smoothly as possible, but there will be bumps along the way.

He had a few days to get to know the scholarship players already on roster, but he’s also had to hit the road and work the phones to establish relationships with a recruiting class.

And somewhere in-between, Wojciechowski also had to conduct searches for a coaching staff.

"I want to move quickly, but I want to be smart about it," he said when he was introduced on April 1. "I want to get guys who will fit with who I am as a person, complement me for where I am as a coach and make these guys better. I want guys who will dive into the game of basketball and dive into relationships to help our guys reach their full potential both individually and collectively. So I have people in mind."

On April 7, six days after that statement, a former teammate of Wojciechowski’s at Duke University, Chris Carrawell, was announced as the first new assistant coach by the university.

Not only did Carrawell play with Wojciechowski, he worked alongside him for two seasons at Duke after retiring from playing in 2007.

The 36-year-old Carrawell comes to Marquette after three years serving as an assistant coach with the Springfield Armor, the NBA Developmental League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets.

On April 9, the university announced the addition of Missouri assistant Mark Phelps to the staff. The 48-year-old brings a more veteran presence on the bench, with 2014-15 being his 18th year on a sideline. He also has run a program before as the winningest coach in Drake University history.

It is likely that Wojciechowki makes at least one another hire to round out his staff.

Jerry Wainwright, who was retained by the university during the transition period between Buzz Williams’ departure and Wojciechowski’s hiring, remains listed as an assistant on the Marquette University basketball website.

"Number one, I hope we model ourselves enough where we're hanging banners and winning conference championships and all the things that we were able to do at Duke," Wojciechowski said of the model he and his staff hopes to bring to the court.

"Obviously, coach (Mike Krzyzewski) has a huge impact on what I believe in basketball, and it starts with defense first. Not only that is who I was as a player. I believe defense is what wins championships and really good defense should lead to offense and exciting and fast play."

Jim Owczarski is an award-winning sports journalist and comes to Milwaukee by way of the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network.

A three-year Wisconsin resident who has considered Milwaukee a second home for the better part of seven years, he brings to the market experience covering nearly all major and college sports.

To this point in his career, he has been awarded six national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, breaking news and projects. He is also a four-time nominee for the prestigious Peter J. Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, presented by the Chicago Headline Club, and is a two-time winner for Best Sports Story. He has also won numerous other Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press and Northern Illinois Newspaper Association awards.

Jim's career started in earnest as a North Central College (Naperville, Ill.) senior in 2002 when he received a Richter Fellowship to cover the Chicago White Sox in spring training. He was hired by the Naperville Sun in 2003 and moved on to the Aurora Beacon News in 2007 before joining OnMilwaukee.com.

In that time, he has covered the events, news and personalities that make up the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, NCAA football, baseball and men's and women's basketball as well as boxing, mixed martial arts and various U.S. Olympic teams.

Golf aficionados who venture into Illinois have also read Jim in GOLF Chicago Magazine as well as the Chicago District Golfer and Illinois Golfer magazines.